Top Five Blackhawks Vital to Winning the 2012 Cup

Corey Crawford:

Coming into the 2010-11-season goaltender Corey Crawford was the backup goalie but stole the starting job and had an excellent rookie season. In the 2011-playoff series against Vancouver he was the better goaltender and was a huge reason the Hawks forced game seven into overtime. After the season ended he was rewarded with a contract extension.

When the 2011-12-hockey season started he was the undeniable number one goalie. But he has been struggling mightily since November.

At the All-Star break he is 18-12-4, a 2.86 GAA with a SV% of .902. Mediocre numbers for a team that is hoping to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup in June.

If the Hawks want to be champions, Crawford is going to have be better in net and show fans and his team that he is worth the contract.

Jonathan Toews

The Captain of the Hawks in no stranger to winning, World Junior Champion Gold Medalist, Olympic Gold Medalist while being named best forward in the games, Stanley Cup Winner and won the Conn Smythe trophy for MVP of the playoffs.

Toews is now having a career year. In the first 49 games played he has posted 27 goals, 23 assists, is a +17 and leads the league in face-offs won.

He is the heart of the team and if he continues his stellar play into the second half the Hawks will have a great chance of making it deep into the playoffs.

David Bolland:

The underrated center on the Hawks has recently been contributing on the offensive side but is better know for his shut down abilities. If Bolland can be the defensive “Rat” he is known to be the Hawks will have one of the best third line centers in the league.

The team is not the same without him, so if he could stay healthy for the rest of the season would be huge.

Bolland performs his best in the playoffs. In last seasons first round series he had two goals and four assists in four games played.

When the Hawks get into the playoffs they will need him to play the way he did in the last three playoff years.

Duncan Keith:

The year the Hawks won the Cup, Duncan Keith won the Norris Trophy for being the league’s best defensemen.

Since then, he has not been able to match the 2009-2010-season.

Last season was one of his worst, seeing a lower point total and finishing the season with a minus one rating.

He is the leader of the defensive unit and the team desperately needs him to find his Norris Trophy form if they want to lift the Cup for the second time in three years.

Patrick Kane:

Patrick Kane has been in a pretty long scoring slump, only scoring 11 goals so far this season. He is on pace for the lowest point totals since his rookie year.

While he is still producing assists, more is expected out of him, and the Hawks hope he can bust out of his slump and go back to the player who won the Calder and scored the game Stanley Cup winning goal back in 2010.